how do you know if I (male) has high risk hpv?

Hi JT. My understanding is there's pretty much no good test for males for detecting high risk HPV. This is partly due to the fact that it's hard to get a good sample from the thick skin on a man's genitals as opposed to the cells of a woman's cervix. Since the risk of serious complications from high risk HPV infection in men is so low, the current consensus seems to be there really isn't much utility in testing men. Personally I think there's plenty of utility since men are carriers who then pass it on to women... but that's just me ranting... and there's currently no approved test to give men anyway. Hopefully someday.

Some of this info can be found in the HPV resource center: http://www.ashastd.org/hpv/hpv_learn_men.cfm

I'll let a better-informed mod respond to the question about low risk.

There's no way to know for sure when one is clear of HPV, although recurrences of warts most often occur in the first three months following treatment, and are relatively uncommon after six months.

Bear's absolutely correct in that there's no HPV test for men, and even the ones available for women are limited to use as part of cervical cancer screening, not as a general "Hmm, wonder if I might have HPV?" kind of test.

With high-risk HPV, most people who have it will clear the virus without ever having a clue. That's actually also true in most cases with low-risk types, as well.

Hope this helps. Post again anytime.

Fredo

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ASHA Moderator